MiddletownJournal.com

WASHINGTON — Republican state Sen. Steve Stivers and Democratic state Sen. John Boccieri are of different political persuasions, but should the two Ohioans be elected to the U.S. Congress in November, they'll be part of two distinct minorities.

Both have served in the military, Boccieri in the Air Force Reserves and Stivers in the Ohio Army National Guard.

And both have served in the war in Iraq.

Currently, only one member of Congress — U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa. — is a veteran of the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. And, perhaps more surprisingly, less than a quarter of those currently serving in Congress have served in the military.

Not long ago, serving in the military seemed part of the traditional resume for members of Congress. From 1951 through 1993, at least 51 percent of the Congress — House and Senate combined — were veterans.

But that changed by 1993. For the first time, only 44 percent of those serving in the U.S. House and Senate were veterans. That percentage has shrunk each Congress since.

Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University, credits the earlier "veteran surplus" in Congress to the draft, which ensured that servicemen and women came from different socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. But he also said party bosses were more likely to pluck candidates who could tout military experience on their resume.

Bill Bianco, a political science professor at Indiana University, did a study of how veteran members and non-veteran members voted on issues of war, and found little difference between the two.

But Feaver has found differently. He thinks there's one key difference: Veterans, he said, are less likely to use force unless it is necessary.

"They tend to subscribe to the Powell doctrine," he said, referring to former Secretary of State Colin Powell. "Use force rarely but decisively."

A rash of Iraqi war veterans ran for Congress in 2006, but only one, Murphy, won.

Feaver found many of those who lost were otherwise weak candidates. "The voter doesn't view (military experience) as a requirement," he said. "But on the other hand, the voter does view it as relevant."

This year, nearly 30 veterans — primarily Republicans — are running. The group includes Stivers, who faces Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy in the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce in the Columbus area; and Boccieri, who faces Republican state Sen. Kirk Schuring in the northeast Ohio district that will be open when U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Navarre, retires.

Both men argue they would add a much-needed perspective in Congress.

Boccieri, an Air Force reserve pilot whose unit was mobilized in December 2003 and demobilized two years later, tells crowds in the northeast Ohio district where he's running that he believes the troops need to be brought home "safely, honorably and soon."

He said voters are increasingly concerned about the impact of paying for new roads and bridges in Iraq while the economy at home is faltering. He recalls reading about Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson flying to Iraq in 2004 to promise every man, woman and child health care. It's ironic, he said, considering 47 million in this country are uninsured.

"We can barely keep our schools open in my congressional district," he said. "But we're building brand new ones in Iraq with the taxpayer money that Ohio is losing."

Stivers, meanwhile, has a slightly different perspective. He supported the surge, opposes a timeline, and thinks decisions should be made based on conditions on the ground. He sees progress in Iraq, and thinks the next logical step will be getting Iraqis to pay at least some of the tab for the war.

"This is a conflict that, for better or for worse, we're in," he said. "We just have to make sure we support the soldiers and look out for our national interests."